I'm I foolish? (1 Viewer)

[Omard.]

Is it possible to get front speakers for $300.00?

 

[ShaunLB]

Very possible. In fact you can get some very nice fronts for $300. Your options if you are buying new are a bit more limitied...I'd stay in the bookshelf range. However, if you are willing to go used you can actually find some excellent bookshelves or even smaller floorstanders for that price.

 

[Omard.]

Where can i find the used ones? The hardware for sale forum? I would like some floorstanding fronts.

 

[Rutgar]

Try here:

www.audiogon.com

 

[Omard.]

What do you think of these speakers Athena Audition Series 8 or the POLK RTI10CH or POLK MONITOR50BK?

 

[brentl]

The Athena As-f1 speakers are a nice speaker, but much more can be had buy moving up to the F2s and spending an extra $100.

Brent

 

[ShaunLB]

Both Athena and Polk make great speakers. And of course, always listen before you buy

 

[Omard.]

so I should look into the athena F2s? Are the JBL northbridge that BB sell any good? Here is the link http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....4&type=product

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I agree with the above suggestion to audition your speaker choices.

Audition Process:
1) Use your familiar DVD or Music CD which means you bring it to the store.
2) Make sure the AMP Tone-control settings = By-pass (basically turned-off, or Dial = "0")
3) Take a SPL Meter and listen to your speaker of choice @ the SAME SPL (Sound Pressure Level).
.... a) Easiest way to set that up is to use the AV Receiver's test tones set @ 70 dB (Meter Dial = 70 dB / Weight = C / Speed = SLOW)
.... b) If too loud, ... use 65 dB SPL. (Meter Dial = 60 dB / Weight = C / Speed = SLOW)
4) Listen for overall balance, smoothness and highs (cymbals, bells, string sections, etc.)
5) Take your time, have fun and choose what you like! (visually and sound)


NOTE: All JBL E-Series use the 3/4" (19mm) Titanium-laminate dome tweeter and are all timbre-matched to the E-Series Center Channel Speakers, ... 2-way EC25 & 3-way EC35.

For more JBL INFO, read my webpage Why you should add JBL Speakers "N", "S" & "E"-Series to your audition list!.

Have fun deciding!
Phil

 

[DorianBryant]

I have all JBL's and think they are an excellent value. Just do not get them at best Buy. You can buy them for far less money on-line.

Check Harmon Audio and you can get refurbs as well. They (Harman Audio)are selling some JBL S38II's on E-bay for about $250 shipped. These were originally $600. Read the reviews. Very highly rated. I bought mine in December and use them for mains. They are excellent speakers.

 

[Jimi C]

I bought Fluance's SV10 towers for around $360 shipped direct from fluance.com about 7 months ago... im quite content.

 

[Omard.]

Thanks for all the help. I think any speaker will sound better then my current Bose 301's.

 

[Omard.]

I looked at Fluance and they look great. Is there any place that I can listen to those?

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I haven't heard the new Polk monitor series, yet. However, I do have the RTi8 floorstanding speakers - which are still a bit out of the price you are trying to reach. But, you should be able to find some Polk RTi6 speakers in the price range you are seeking. They are bookshelf speakers and many have preferred them over the RTi8 floorstanding speakers.

 

[Max F]

Don't be so quick in saying that. I had the 301's and had a hard time finding something at a reasonable price to replace them. No offense to the Polk folks but the Rti's ,while clear and airy, hurt my ears - literally. I couldn't listen to them more than 5 min. The LSI's didn't hurt my ears (they were quite nice, actually) but they're expensive. I know that there are other Bose 301 owners that had a hard time replacing their speakers too. I really loved the way the 301s handled drums. I move to a bigger place and they just couldn't fill the room anymore.

I would recommend listening to alot of speakers. I liked the JBLs - not so bright as the polks. I finally found my perfect speakers when i auditioned Monitor Audio. I listened to the Silver S2 bookshelves and fell in love. Couldn't afford them but was in love anyway. I did end up with some floor model Bronze B4s which are awesome not as dreamy as the silvers but nice, powerful and clear without being overly bright. Go out and audition and maybe you'll find a great deal like i did. I will say that i won't go back to Bose, but there's still a place in my heart for the 301's regardless what other people think.

Oh yeah, i got them for less than $300.

 

[BryanWeaver]

http://goodguys.crossmediaservices.com/goodguys/default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&storeid=2415664&rapid=72697&pagenumber=3&listingid=-2097854527&ref=%2fgoodguys%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepa gelarge%26storeid%3d2415664%26rapid%3d72697%26page number%3d3

Check this for Klipsch RF5 speakers.

 

[Brad E]

Omard, I would definitely recommed JBL. And don't just take my word for it. Listen to them along with some other brands. I'm sure you will like them, I did.

 

[Omard.]

I have no complaints about my Bose 301's. I've had them for about 5yrs and they still sound good to me. But I really want some bigger speakers. But maybe I should just stay with the Bose until I can afford some better speakers.

 

[Scott L]

Omward- those JBL's look nice but it's important to note that the $300 is PER speaker, meaning $600 total. If that's what you meant Crutchfield is clearing out their Infinity Alpha series. Awesome price and Crutchield service:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-zUcwqve...&avf=N&search=

I bought a pair of Alpha 20s ($200 total) and love em, bi-wirable too!

PS- Bryan your link is screwed up, takes me to microsoft haha.

 

[Chu Gai]

That sounds reasonable to me. In a rush to change one's speakers, be they Bose or whatever, people rarely take the time to do a full and reasonably thorough job of evaluation. Often they go into a store and become enamoured by some 'spectacular' sale that's going on and they spend more time being wowed by the discount than by the sound. Phil I's suggestions above are worth taking to heart.

Most places where you'll listen to speakers are quite frankly, dreadful environments. The speakers are all bunched together and there are way too many distractions. If you wind up bringing your signficant other and they're not all that interested in turning this into a fun adventure, then you get the pressure of being forced into a snap decision.

There are competent speakers that can't be auditioned in stores like say Axioms or Rockets or Ascends, etc. They have to be bought via the internet. Now I'm no fan of buying sight unseen or is that ear unheard. If those are of interest to you, then I'd suggest either posting here or on the respective manufacturer's forum to see if there are users who would be willing to let you come over and give them a listen. This will give you a much better and relaxed environment to do some listening. For speakers that can be bought in a store, try to find stores that will let you audition the speakers at home and allow you to return them for a full refund if you're not satisfied. In both cases, you may find blems or seconds that have minor cosmetic problems which just might allow you to move up a model or two getting you more speaker for the buck.

To start you off on developing a short list which may get a bit long, give some thought as to what you're going to be using to power the speakers, the size of your room, and whether smaller or larger speakers work for you. Keep in mind that bookshelves will require some sort of stand or means to bring them to a proper listening height and that'll add to the cost. For example, if life is such that you've got, or can only consider, a receiver from the lower end of a manufacturer's line, and say that your room is quite large, then you're best off considering fairly efficient speakers with a nominal 8 ohm rating. Plenty there to choose from.

Anyways, good luck, and take your damned time! I don't want to see you back here telling everybody you've bought this brand but it seems harsh to you and you're looking to upgrade. There are better ways of stimulating the economy rather than you taking a beating having to sell your speakers at a loss.